Episode 265 | From Albuquerque to Texas: Torc Prepares for Commercial Operations

Peter Vaughan Schmidt, CEO, Torc joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how Torc is preparing to launch commercial operations in Texas.

Torc’s strategic relocation from Albuquerque to Fort Worth, Texas was a move that aligned with changing market dynamics. The regulatory environment combined with a growing demand for freight movement, makes Texas the ideal market to launch s commercial autonomous trucking operations.

Looking ahead to 2027, Torc plans to launch commercial autonomous trucking operations in Texas. When the service is launched, customers will purchase autonomous-ready Cascadias from Freightliner, own the asset and subscribe to Torc’s virtual driver service.

Recorded on Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Episode Chapters

0:00 Torc Moves from Albuquerque to Texas

4:37 Autonomous-Ready Cascadias

8:57 Preparing for Driver-Out Operations

11:01 Torc’s Perception System

12:22 From a Robotics Stack to an AI Stack

15:26 Autonomous Truck Policy

17:08 AI’s Is Accelerating Torc’s Commercial Launch

20:32 Scaling Commercial Operations

22:39 Buying an Autonomous Truck Powered by Torc

24:24 Torc Business Model

30:07 Autonomous Truck Maintenance

34:09 Capital Allocation Strategy

37:21 Outside Capital

39:44 Additional OEMs

41:05 Waymo

43:29 Autonomous Trucking Market

45:17 Torc Outlook

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